Chef Explains Which Items We Probably Shouldn't Buy At Costco And Why

As she wrote in an article for Insider, the most common problem for the 12 items she advised avoiding was that they're likely to go bad or stale long before we've finished off the large amount we've bought.

This was true of oversized cans of tomato sauce, big cereal boxes, tubs of sour cream, bulk bread crumbs, pre-sliced deli meats, containers of fruit, peeled garlic, and large packages of baked goods.

But perhaps the most surprising example concerned the roasted mixed nuts we see here. Not only do the natural oils go rancid pretty easily, but the roasting decreases their shelf lives even more.

For instance, you'd be perfectly capable of eating Costco's frozen salmon after an extended period of freezing.

But that doesn't mean you'd find it that appetizing because the flaky texture of pre-marinated frozen salmon tends to break down, which will end up leaving it pretty mushy.

That aside, the store's fresh salmon is apparently a better deal anyway and will likely end up tasting better after you season it yourself.

And she stood firm on this regardless of what time of year it is because there's no way of knowing how long this corn has spent in the package after being husked.

This matters because corn eventually dries out after it's husked, which makes it less flavorful and nutritious. Whereas if you husk it yourself, you'll get the best of both worlds.

And that's to avoid pre-shredded cheeses in general because they're often less flavorful than cheese you grate yourself. Again, this is because it's impossible to know how long ago the cheese was shredded.

Another problem arises in a three-or-four-cheese blend because we don't have any real idea as to how much of each variety is contained in a given bag.

So when edibility isn't the issue, it seems that you have to decide whether it's more important for meals to be convenient or delicious.

h/t: Insider